A Bugs Life
A Bug's Life, officially trademarked as a bug's life, is a 1998 American CGI film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney/Pixar feature film and the third American computer-animated film after Toy Story and Antz. It tells the tale of an oddball individualist ant who hires what he thinks are "warrior bugs" — actually circus performers — to fight off greedy grasshoppers. The film was directed by John Lasseter and is also the last film appearances of Madeline Kahn and Roddy McDowall. The story of A Bug's Life is a parody of Aesop's fable of The Ant and the Grasshopper. It is similar to the comedy Three Amigos, which is about out-of-work actors defending a town while thinking they're merely giving a performance. It also gives a nod to Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (as well as its Hollywood remake, The Magnificent Seven), which is about Japanese villagers hiring a group of swordsmen to fight off rampaging bandits. Story A Bug's Life tells the story of Flik, an oddball individualist and would-be inventor among a colony of ants that is being oppressed by a gang of grasshoppers. The grasshoppers arrive once a season to extort food from the ants, supposedly in return for protection from "bigger bugs," but while working with an invention to pick grain more efficiently, Flik accidentally destroys the annual offering that the ants were collecting to appease the grasshoppers. In exchange for a temporary reprieve from the grasshoppers, the ants are given until the end of autumn to produce an offering of twice the usual amount. Later, while he is being admonished by the royal council of the colony, Flik proposes a plan to recruit "warrior bugs" to fight off the grasshoppers. When the council agrees to his proposal, Flik actually believes they have accepted the merits of his plan, whereas the council actually saw it as a convenient way of simply keeping Flik from wreaking any more havoc with their food-gathering activities. Flik finds his way to the "city" (garbage under a trailer), where he mistakes a group of recently-fired circus performers, whose act had collapsed into chaos, for the warrior bugs he's seeking. The bug troupe, meanwhile, mistakes Flik for a talent agent who wants to book their act, and agrees to travel with him back to Ant Island. Both Flik and the circus troupe soon become aware of their respective mistakes. However, the rest of the ant colony had become convinced that these newcomers are indeed the warriors for which they had hoped when the circus bugs help Flik pull off a daring rescue of Dot (a young princess ant of the colony, who idolizes Flik) and a wounded Francis (a ladybug performer of the circus bug troupe) from a hungry bird. Caught between the opportunity to turn around his fortunes within the colony, and the knowledge that the bug troupe are not who they appear to be, Flik advocates building a fake bird to scare away Hopper, the leader of the grasshoppers, who is deeply afraid of bug-eating birds. The ants unite behind Flik's plan until the circus' ringmaster, P.T. Flea, arrives to retrieve his performers, thereby blowing Flik's cover. As punishment for deceiving the colony, Princess Atta (the older sister of Dot and soon-to-be queen of the colony) banishes Flik, who sadly joins the rest of the circus. Having wasted an enormous amount of time pursuing Flik's plan to stand up to the grasshoppers, the ants try desperately to gather enough food for a new offering, but due to the rapidly-approaching winter season, they can't find enough food to meet the quota. When the grasshoppers return and are angered by the meager offering, Dot overhears Hopper's plan to kill the queen after receiving the full offering, and convinces her friends to put Flik's bird plan back into action. She goes after Flik and convinces him and the circus bugs to return to help the colony. It all nearly works, but when a confused P.T. inadvertently incinerates the bird, Hopper realizes he has been tricked and takes out his anger on the primary instigator: Flik. After absorbing a beating from Hopper's dog-like grasshopper Thumper, Flik declares, in response to Hopper's claims of species superiority, "Ants don't serve grasshoppers! It's you who need us! We're a lot stronger than you say we are...and you know it, don't you?" Indeed, Hopper does know that Flik has reasoned out the truth. However, Hopper's reaction to Flik's challenge in front of the whole ant colony make them collectively realize that they vastly outnumber the grasshoppers, and that they needn't endure their oppression any longer. The ants rise up in a wave of fury and chase the grasshoppers out for good, but not before Hopper makes off with Flik in a plan to exact revenge upon him. Flik's friends, including Princess Atta, set off in pursuit, and thanks to some quick thinking by Flik, Hopper ends up being eaten by a real bird. Flik is welcomed back to the colony, and all the circus bugs join him in a celebration before departing Ant Island. ''-courtesy of Wikipedia the free encyclopedia'' Cast *Dave Foley as Flik, the main protagonist, an inventive ant who is desperate to make a difference to his colony's way of life, but tends to make things worse in the process. His inventions include a telescope created by wrapping a blade of grass around a dewdrop; an automatic harvester; several items of traveller's gear; and the bird-shaped aircraft used to terrify the grasshoppers. He is friends with Dot and the Circus Bugs, and is suggested to have a soft spot for Princess Atta. *Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Princess Atta, the older princess ant of the royal family and heir to the throne. She is nervous about her new responsibilities and fears what the rest of the colony might think about her. During the film, it is shown that she has a small crush on Flik, although initially she does not show much appreciation for him. Her appreciation changes for the better after the ants build the bird. The Queen eventually gives up her crown at the end of the film to Atta, whereupon Atta gives up her own crown to her younger sister Dot. *Hayden Panettiere as Dot, the younger princess ant of the royal family. She idolises Flik and resents being small. She starts the movie unable to fly, but ultimately finds herself able to fly when her survival depends on it. Dot acts as Flik's moral support, and he as hers. Dot fears the demented grasshopper Thumper, exposure to whom Hopper uses as a punishment. Dot is terrified of Thumper but with the help of the rhinoceros beetle Dim she scares the grasshopper away. *Denis Leary as Francis, an aggressive ladybug and a clown in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. Francis is frustrated by constantly being mistaken for a female; an obvious pun on the name of his species. In such frustrations, he is shown to be belligerent and aggressive to the point of frightening others. Because it is he who played the most obvious part in Princess Dot's rescue, he becomes 'den-mother' to the scout-like organization of young ants called the "Blueberry Troop". As counselor to this organization, Francis becomes very fond of his charges. Francis seems to have a strong friendship with Slim and Heimlich. While transporting over long distances, Francis carries Slim. *Joe Ranft as Heimlich, a green caterpillar with a German accent and a clown in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. He is gluttonous and frivolous throughout, and contemptuous of anyone he considers less intelligent than himself. At one point, he remarks that he dreams of being a beautiful butterfly. At the end of the film, he sprouts a pair of tiny wings, but remains flightless due to his obesity. Whilst a caterpillar, Heimlich is carried by the rhinoceros beetle, Dim, for transport. He uses a few German words now and then, particularly when he is very scared. *David Hyde Pierce as Slim, a walking stick insect and a clown in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. It appears that he is unhappy with his position at the circus troupe, as his boss constantly casts him as a prop instead of a character, with such castings such as "the broom, the pole, the stick, and the splinter". He is shown to be best friends with Heimlich and Francis, and often treats other bugs with respect in contrast to Francis' aggressive nature. It is also implied that he could share a friendship with Rosie as they seem to stand next to each other a lot and often look to each other for help. Since Slim does not have wings and cannot fly, Francis usually carries him from location to location. *Jonathan Harris as Manny, a praying mantis with an English accent; the magician of P.T. Flea's circus troupe. Manny is Gypsy's husband. His magic act involves the 'Chinese Cabinet of Metamorphosis', which is really a Chinese food take-out carton. His magic act is not appreciated well by the flies in the usual audience; but the grasshoppers, when he is set to distract them, take it seriously. Manny is aggressive towards Flik at the beginning of their acquaintance, but grows to like him. During the rescue of the Queen, Manny performs his magic act to conceal the Queen and is almost strangled by Hopper when he refuses to give up the Queen's location. His personality is very melodramatic and dignified. *Madeline Kahn as Gypsy, a gypsy moth who has beautiful patterns on either side of her wings. She is Manny's wife as well as his 'lovely assistant' during his magic act. She gives the signal for Flik's fake bird plan to commence when the plan to rescue the Queen is in session. During this, Manny performs his magic act, wherein Gypsy takes the place of the Queen as if to be a transformation in his Chinese Cabinet. *Bonnie Hunt as Rosie, a black widow spider who is maternal toward the rhinoceros beetle, Dim, and the younger ants of the colony. She has apparently had twelve husbands. She will sometimes be involved in whatever Slim, Francis, and Heimlich are doing. She seems to share a friendship with Slim, to whom she is seen in proximity. *Michael McShane as Tuck and Roll, twin pill bugs who speak a language other than English. According to the Official Pixar website they are Hungarian yet the language they speak is entirely fictional and the dance they do is a typical Russian Folk dance.Tuck and Roll occasionally argue, but are usually the best of friends. They act as cannonballs in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. They like the sound of the phrase "You fired!" (of whose meaning they have no idea), and continuously repeat it throughout the film. *Brad Garrett as Dim, a rhinoceros beetle who has a childlike, impressionable, but clear-sighted character. He is usually mothered by the black widow spider, Rosie. He is the largest insect of the circus troupe, and also the transport to Heimlich, Tuck, Roll, and Rosie. It is he who provokes the performers to revive Flik's belief in himself, when this has waned. *Kevin Spacey as Hopper, the main antagonist of A Bug's Life. Hopper is a feared grasshopper who is blind in one eye due to a scratch caused by a recent encounter with a blue jay very much like Sharptooth from The Land Before Time. He leads a large gang of grasshoppers, who hold a Mafia-like control over the ants. Hopper is cunning, bad-tempered, and tyrannical. Whereas most of the grasshoppers consider the ants harmless, Hopper is aware that the ants outnumber them, and therefore plots to kill the queen ant to frighten them into submission. His catchphrase "Let's ride!" is uttered when the grasshoppers are about to take flight en masse. He is the first of few villains killed off in a Pixar movie. *Richard Kind as Molt, Hopper's brother and self-proclaimed Vice President of the grasshopper gang. He is named 'Molt' for his exoskeleton's abnormal tendency to peel off. He is a loudmouth and provides a great deal of comic relief. Hopper detests his brothers' antics and is shown remarking that had he not promised their mother on her deathbed that he would not kill Molt, he would have gladly murdered him. At the end, Molt joins P.T. Flea's circus troupe, under the new name of Tiny. *Phyllis Diller as The Queen of the ant colony. She is an ancient ant, who is due to give up her crown to her eldest daughter Atta. She admonishes her younger daughter, Dot, for trying to fly before her time. She has a pet aphid called Aphy, whom she adores. She is also shown to have an intimate, possibly romantic relationship with another elder ant, Cornelius. *Roddy McDowall as Mister Soil, a member of the Ant Island council. This role was Roddy McDowall's last before his death in 1998. *Edie McClurg as Doctor Flora, the nurse of Ant Island. *John Ratzenberger as P.T. Flea, the ringmaster of the circus troupe, who is unwilling to give refunds after his show has lasted two minutes. His finalé consists of an act called "Flaming Death", in which he was almost incinerated. This caused him to fire his entire troupe, until a foot-long line of flies arrived outside the circus tent, wanting to see the "Flaming Death" act again. He loves money. His name is based on the initials of circus owner Phineas Taylor Barnum. See Also *List of Characters of A Bugs Life